The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1887-02-02

Sicecryi Thnnan - 49, ca, - rivelh
n ~ vfc6ury through or Lord Jus
Chris O ny Lord, my God, What delu-
sion: what glorious do1uGfonI 6hbmeree
M with II, IN my eyes and eas with It, put
1t under my dying head for . piIlow-this
delusion- spread It over me- for canopy, put
it underneath me for an outspread wing-ron
it over me In ocean surges 10, zoo fathoms
deepi o, il infdelity, and il atheism, and If
humiliation are reality, and the Christian
religion Is q delusion, give me the delusion!
The strong conclusion Of every man and
woman I'm the house is that Christianity pro-
6ucing such grand results cannot be delu-
sion A lie, cheat, swindle, an haIlucina-
ton cannot launch such a glory Of the CEN
turtles Your logic and your common sense
convince you that bad cause cannot produce
an iIlustrious result. out Of the womb of such
monster no such angel can be born There
are many in this house this morning, in the
galleries and ON the main floor, who began
with thinking that the Christian religion was
a stupid farce, who have come to the
conclusion that it is a reality. Why are you
here today Why did you sing this songa
Why did you bow your head in the opening
prayer Why did you bring your family
with yous Why, when tell you of the end
ing of all trials in the bosom of God, do there
stand tears in your eyes-not tears of grief,
but tears of JOY such as stand in the eyes of
homesick children far away at school when
some one talks to them about going homei
Why is il that you can be so calmly submis-
sive to the death of your loved one, about
whose departure you once were SO
angry and so rebelliousl There is some
thing the matter with you All your
friends have found out there is q great
change And if some Of you would give
your experience, you would give 1t in schol-
arly style, and others giving your experience
would give it in broken style, but the one ex-
perience would be just as good as the other.
Some of you have read everything. You
are scientific and you are scholarly, and yet
if / should ask you: what is the most
sensible thing you ever did!' you would say:
1.-THE most sensible thing / ever did was to
give my heart to God
But there may be others here who have not
had early advantages, and If they were asked
to give their experience, they might rise and
give such testimony as the man gave in a
prayer meeting when he said: ION my way
here tonight, met man who asked me
| where was going. / said: L am going to
| prayer meeting He said: There are a
| good many religions, and l think the most Of
| them are decisions; as to the Christian
| religion, that is only notion, that Is
| mere notion, the Christian religion
said to him: Stranger, you see that
| tavern over thereP Yes he said, i see
| it, DO you see meT Yes, OF course see
| YOU Now, the time was, as everybody in
| this town knows that if / had quarter of a
, dollar in my pocket | could not pass that
tavern without going in and getting drink;
| all the people of Jefferson could not keep me
out of that place; but God has changed my
heart, and the Lord Jesus Christ has de-
| stroyed my thirst for strong drink, and there
| is my whole weeks wages, and / have no
temptation TO go in there; and, stranger,
| il this is a notion, want to tell
you it is mighty powerful notion;
| it is a notion that has put clothes
on my children's back, and it is a notion that
has put good food on our table, and it is a
notion that has filled my mouth with thanks
| giving to God. And, stranger, you had bet
ter go along with me, you might get religion,
too; lots of people are getting religion now.
| Well, we will soon understand it all. Your
| life and mine will soon be over. We will
soon come TO the last bar of the music, to the
last act of the tragedy, to the last page OF
the book-yea, to the last line and to the last
word, and to you and to me it will either be
midnoon or midnight.